Three simple words
by Spazzynerd
Summary: There had always been plenty of things Kakashi Hatake could do. And there had always been more things he couldn't do. Confessing love to someone was one of those things. One shot! Kaka/Obi Kaka/Iru


There had always been a lot of things Hatake Kakashi could do. For example, at age 13 he was already out ranking Jounin who had held they're ranks for over 10 years. He could use ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu at an expert level and defeat almost any enemy that came his way. But, there were also plenty of things that he could never do. Such as, confessing love to the person he adored the most. To him, the very topic had been treated in the same fashion as his late father. Something that shouldn't be mentioned, something that he would never admit to being true, something that he hated.

Love was more complicated than the most secret S class missions. And it was something that a ninja needn't concern himself with, and that was the illusion Hatake Kakashi had forced himself to believe all of his life. But something minute had changed when he met the hyperactive boy, Uchiha Obito. Always wearing that stupid grin, laughing at his own moronic and perverted jokes, and constantantly trying to hit on the Kunoichi of the team, Rin. Uchiha Obito was someone who was unendowed with the abilities of his clan whose ninja skills were dismaller than average. To him, Uchiha Obito was nothing more than dead weight on the team. Or at least that was what he had fooled himself into believing.

It wasn't until he had known Obito for several months when he found his gaze lingering on the Uchiha's devillish grin a moment longer than necessary, his breath catch when they came into close contact, a slight pang in his chest when he saw his teammate and friend injured in missions. But Kakashi, being the gifted ninja and naive teenager that he was, ignored these signs and gruffly dismissed them as nothing.

Gradually, however, nothing turned into something, and even Kakashi knew it. But that didn't mean he had to agree with it. Ninja's shouldn't concern themselves with love, especially not with someone of the same sex. There was nothing to offer in a relationship with another man anyway. You couldn't have a family, you couldn't have a normal lifestyle that wouldn't include being tormented and ridiculed. And after his experiences of being both tormented and ridiculed due to his fathers stupidity, it was something he'd like to avoid by all means possible. These thoughts lead to his constant cold and harsh behavior towards Obito, and as much as he had been relieved that Obito was too much of a dunce to notice his true feelings, he felt guilty for hiding so many things from one of the only people he cared about.

But none the less, training continued and everyday, Kakashi would force himself to ignore feelings he had for Obito, until one day after a heated argument with Obito during sparring, Obito had caught up with him as he was about to leave the training grounds.

"Oi, ahou!" Obito had shouted, running up to the white haired ninja. The said ninja turned around calmly, his hands in his pockets as he raised his eyebrows at the knucklehead coming towards him.

"It's Hatake-sempai to you, being that I am out ranking you. Besides, if anyones an ahou, it's you." He muttered non-chalantly, although in reality his stomach was in knots as he scrutinized every inch of Obito's long face and large brown eyes which reflected particles of light and made them luminous and hypnotic.

"Bull shit. Like I'm ever going to call you ithat./i But listen, temee, do you have a problem with me? Because as a teammate, you should at least pretend to be somewhat kind hearted. So if you have a problem, tell it to my face, ass wipe, because I'm sick of you're attitude. You always argue with me, and say you're better, when in reality you're just a nimrod who is too concerned with what people say about his father to really care about you're true potential. So, fix whatever issues you have with me and get over it." He declared, folding his arms and glaring at the slightly shorter ninja. Kakashi took this in as his impassive gaze searched Obito's face, noting how his nose crinkled ever so slightly at the bridge when he scowled. How he looked kind of cute- Before he could finish the thought he mentally slapped himself and turned around and began walking home.

"Hey!" Obito had bellowed after him, and the next thing Kakashi knew, loud, clumsy footsteps landing in rapid patterns came heading after him. Kakashi blew out a deep breath, believing it to be irritation. "Where do you think you're going!" Obito finished, and instinctively, he had shot out his arm and gripped Kakashi's wrist, spinning him around to face him. Kakashi fixed his expression into a surprised sort of rage, more to fool himself from the his sudden lack of breathing and acceleration of heart beat than to keep up appearances with Obito. However, the expression must have had been fairly murderous for Obito instantly dropped the other ninjas wrist as though it were on fire. The Uchiha's face flushed and he averted his eyes quicker than a civilian traffic light changes from red to green.

"I wasn't done talking to you..." Obito mumbled, obviously his stamina had decreased after the contact. Kakashi arched an eyebrow.

"Then what else did you want to tell me, because if you don't mind, I have to go home eat, which by my standards is way more important than standing here and waiting for you to say what's on you're damned mind." Kakashi found himself snapping. And at that moment it struck him just how good at acting he really was.

"Forget it." The brunette muttered, before turning around and taking off at a sprint in the opposite direction. Before his face was completely out of Kakashi's range of view though he caught a glimpse of the Uchiha's expression, and there was so many things written on it that he had never seen before. Such as sadness and defeat. Of course they were masked ever so slightly, but Obito had never been one to conceal emotions. Kakashi was taken aback, for not once in his two years of knowing this Uchiha, he had never seen sadness or defeat on his face. It was that look that had made Kakashi do something he never would have done normally. He reached out and caught Obito's hand in his own lightly enough to seem like a casual touch, but noticeable enough to know that it was more than anything casual.

"My stomach can wait. Tell me what you were going to say. Please." He added the last part figuring it the polite thing to do. But as he said it, he knew that it wasn't necessary. Obito truly wanted to talk, and he had truly wanted to listen. Just as it had always been before, but both of them had been too naive and foolish to realize it.

"I was going to say..." Obito paused as he tried to find the right words. He apparently gave up, because he didn't bother finishing the sentence and extended his arm and grabbed Kakashi's chin, tilting it up and carefully pulling the Jounin's mask down so that his bare face was revealed. Obito gasped at the sight of the man's beautiful, unflawed face, and with that, he angled his head down and pressed his lips against the other ninja's. Kakashi tensed at the sudden contact, at the sensation of Obito being so close, the warm caress of his breath against his exposed cheek. But within a few moments, Kakashi found himself relaxing into the touch and wrapping his muscular arms around the taller boys neck. This is what he had always wanted, but always denied. But now, as Obito's tounge darted across his lower lip and they parted their lips to an intimate, exploratory kiss, there was no denying it anymore. He really did- His train of thought was cut off when he sensed his sensei's chakra coming towards them, and their moment of hidden passion came to a halt, as they both broke apart, Kakashi's hands instantly shooting up to his face to pull down his navy blue mask..

"What are you two doing?" Minato asked, as he switched his glance between Kakashi, Obito and then letting it rest on Kakashi once more.

"Nothing," They both had said with varying degrees of avoidence and non-chalantness. They waited for a brief moment before Minato shrugged as though he didn't care.

"Well, I was just checking to make sure you guy's weren't grafiting the memorial stone or something." Their sensei continued.

"It was one time, Sensei!" Obito groaned as he rolled his eyes. Minato chuckled light-heartedly before nodding and vanishing in a blast of smoke. As soon as Kakashi was sure he was gone, he met Obito's gaze and found his breath catch once more, and he inched closer to the taller boy.

"So what were you going to say?" Kakashi managed to whisper as the breath he had been holding released in a torrent. He met Obito's intense brown gaze for a brief moment, before he leaned down so that his face was centimeters away from his own and that his brown hair tickled against his cheek and neck.

"I was going to say I love you." He whispered in Kakashi's ear. Kakashi was stunned. As much as he had thought about it, it had never once occured to him that Obito would feel the same way. And upon this confession, he instantly felt his stomach tense in tight knots. What was the term normal teenagers used for it? Butterflies? He didn't bother trying to figure it out, nor did he get the time to for Obito pulled away, and began to talk once more.

"I figured that was too blunt of a way to say it...so I kissed you to make sure you liked me back. And being that I'm not dead...or even maimed, I take it that you don't completely hate me." Kakashi's jaw dropped before he could stop it, and he felt as though he had been hit with an invisible brick. Since when was Obito capable of psycoanalyzing people? Okay, well he had always been good at analyzing people but never him! The next thing he knew, Obito burst out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" Kakashi reverted to his normal cold self, although he knew his surprised and indignant expression still remained.

"The infamous Hatake Kakashi, master of concealing all emotions, currently looks as though he's seen a ghost." Obito smirked and nudged Kakashi in the arm. "You have a reputation to uphold, don't you? So don't let something I say bother you...never has bef-" Kakashi had long since grown irritated over being talked down to, when he was in fact, the older, wiser, and stronger one, so with that, he finished Obito's train of thought by pulling him down by the ears so that they're lips met in a fiery, intense kiss. They're tongues collided and melded in harmony, and delved every crevace of each others mouth. They were left gasping for breath, and silently begging for more. Kakashi pulled away and smirked at Obito's expression.

"I can't believe it took you that long to admit it." Kakashi stated, trying to mask the fact that he was the one who had been procrastinating and denying. With that, he wrapped his arms around Obito's waist, feeling the body heat press against his forearms for a brief, romantic moment before pulling away. Obito placed another kiss on Kakashi's cheek and with that, the silver haird ninja pulled up his navy blue mask casually. "See you tomorrow at the mission, loverboy." He called, unable to keep his voice flat and monotonous like normal due to the pure ecstasy of the two kisses they had just shared. He sensed Obito's chakra shift as he lifted up an arm and blew a kiss at the back of my his head. And for once, Hatake Kakashi felt eager for the next day.

The next day, Obito died.

And from that day on, there wasn't a moment where Hatake Kakashi didn't think about his teammate, his friend, his one true love. Not a second went by where he didn't regret never saying 3 simple words. Countless times, he had tried to convince himself that it wasn't meant to be, that it was only hormones acting up and the kiss meant nothing. And then he'd remember the look on Obito's face, the compassionate, caring tone he had used when he spoke his final words.

3 simple words.

Kakashi had never been sure if it was the fact that with each word the intensity slowly faded as Obito's voice had dimmed to a strangulated whisper or the genuine sincerity of the emotion behind it that had always brought a knot to his stomach and tears to his eyes. But either way, everytime the tears came welling up to his eyes, he confirmed that love wasn't a strong enough of a word that he had felt for Uchiha Obito.

But even though he had come to terms with his feelings for his late teammate, love was still something that he didn't want to bother himself with. Missions had gradually become his top priority. He buried himself in missions, vanishing from the village for days at a time, only returning to allow himself maybe 5 hours of sleep at most before heading out on another B, A or S class mission. Some said this behavior was unhealthy, some said that ultimately he would end up just like his father. Dead.

But to Kakashi, it had become a habit. Why bother with emotions and normal life issues, when you can work, leave and kill.

However, one day, Minato and Rin had decided they needed to put an end to this and pulled him aside on one of the rare occasions that he was home. He had looked back and forth between they're weary, concerned and saddened faces. They had reminded him that Obito would never have liked for him to act the way he was now, and Kakashi instantly knew they were right. It was from that point that he truly began listening and following the advice Obito had given him, and found himself acting like a calmer version of Obito.

Needless to say, his new approach on life had been short lived. Less than a week later, the Kyuubi attacked. It ravaged all of Konoha and both him, Rin and his sensei were battling the demon full time. He had seen small children devoured before they're parents eyes, and he had seen lovers mercilessly slaughtered. He had also seen the way that the one person he counted on to maintain peace and serenity lose her cool when even her healing abilities couldn't revive her parents. She had to be pulled away by several ANBU from their corpses and she had been forced to cure those who still had a chance. But ultimately, it was her that never had the chance. No one could forsee who the few survivors would be, but Rin had not been among those few. Kakashi watched in numb horror as the demon swiped one of his claws at her and the person whom she had been trying to save, and then proceeded to swat her around with that manic grin on it's face. That had been the second scream he would never forget.

Finally after 3 days of the beasts reign of terror, Minato had to resort to desperate measures. In those three days, the village had lost over three fourths of it's population and something had to be done. So, with that, he had pulled Kakashi aside into his office where the midwife and the laboring Kushina. Children always had been one of Kakashi's least favorite things, but now as he saw his mentor, who had become somewhat of a fatherly figure to him and his wife whom had always been close to him as well, weary, desperate and in sorrow, he found himself unable to look away from the birth that was taking place in front of him. He tried desperately to block out Kushina's high pitched wails of agony as he had become accustomed to doing, but it was a task that he deemed impossible. After the child was born, the midwife had been in a frenzy. Kushina had begun to bleed heavily and there was no way to stop it with the cut backs in supplys for the battle with the demon. Minato watched the panicked midwife before slowly walking up to her with a solemn face on and putting a hand on her shoulder. She quieted instantly, and handed her the baby swadled in a snug bundle.

He glanced down at the tiny beings face briefly before proceeding to strolling over to his wifes side. "Let me see him," Kushina demanded softly as her eyelids fluttered. Minato leaned in close and pressed the child into her arms gently and embracing her shoulders lightly as he settled himself on the bed next to her. Kakashi watched as Minato's lower lip began to tremble ever so slightly as he watched Kushina stare at the child with love with a focus that was rapidly fading. It wasn't long until her head fell limp against Minato's chest and he wrapped his fingers gently through her hair and cradled her head. He rested his chin atop her red hair, and with his free hand took the child's hand in his own.

The three of them sitting together like that had made a family portrait in his mind. An excruciatingly realistic image of sorrow that had been permanently etched in his mind. He looked away and was about to leave, but he had heard the sheets rustle as Minato detatched himself from his wifes touch, and walked up to him, baby in his arms.

"Sensei." Kakashi trailed off in a weary voice. He looked up at the fourth Hokage's face and watched as he forced himself to put on a small smile.

"Kakashi, you're the only student I have left, and you've always been close to both me and Kushina. I know kids aren't you're favorite, but please do me a final favor." Kakashi swallowed and nodded once. "I want you to make sure that he lives a good life. Ensure that he can live to the fullest of his abilities." Minato continued. With that, he placed a large calloused hand on his pupils shoulder and lowered his head in a somber sort of affection, before walking out the door as he prepared to face Kyuubi one last time.

He hadn't bothered to watch the process and instead walked in the completely opposite direction and only stopped when he heard a deafening roar of the demon, and turned around to see spirals and whirls of red chakra swirling around a rapidly fading figure of the beast as it drifted downwards to a single pinpoint. And then, all at once, the chakra had vanished all together, and he took in a deep breath before vanishing in a blast of smoke to the sight. His golden haired sensei lay on the ground motionless, and the baby was in front of him bawling it's eyes out.

After moving the thing to a orphanage where he decided that sleep was something he really needed, and headed back for his house. But he had hardly gone a block when he heard a soft sort of moaning of pain coming from an alley just to his right. He stopped and glanced down it to see a boy perhaps 2 years younger than him curled up in a tight fetal position as he moaned in pain. Reluctantly, Kakashi veered down the alley and crouched down next to the kid. He was bleeding heavily from a deep cut across the bridge of his nose. But that didn't seem to be the biggest problem for he was clutching at his right arm which dangled limply at an awkward angle at his side.

"Hey, kid. Let's get you to a hospital." He nudged the kid in the leg lightly. The kid jumped at the touch and took in a sharp, alarmed gasp, which caused him to double over in pain with shorter, irregular breaths. "What's your name, kid?" Kakashi had exhaled in irritation.

"I'm not a kid." The kid had wheezed as he scowled up at Kakashi. "And my name is Iruka." Iruka rose to his feet only using his good arm for levrage. "Now, fuck off. I don't need you're help."

Kakashi had never particularly enjoyed they're first meeting due to Iruka's attitude, but looking back at it, if he hadn't have punched him in the gut and immobilized him temporarily, he would have never have taken him to the hospital, and Iruka would never chased after him. Of course it had been out of anger and the need for revenge for the punch, but it had grown into something more. Iruka would chase after Kakashi all the time, beg him for dates. Kakashi had always figured being rejected hundreds of times over a 4 year course of time would make anyone lose hope, but not him. But one day, Iruka came up to Kakashi with a surprisingly angry expression for someone with such a gentle demeanor.

"Why do you always say no? Can't you please just give it a shot?" The brunette snapped, voice containing hidden inklings of sorrow. "I don't get why you're so cold hearted to everything around you. There's got to be more to life than the way you live it right now. As much as you act laid back and fun, you are always cold hearted to people that really care about you. You're an ass, Hatake Kaka-" Something had snapped within Kakashi upon those words, and he pinned the smaller boy to the tree. He couldn't deny the attraction he felt between them at such an intimate pose, but his anger was more overwhelming than the arousal.

"Listen, kid. I don't want to give this a shot because I know it will just end badly. Besides, ninja's shouldn't involve themselves with love. They need to focus on they're missions not about loving someone. And if I have to beat that message through you're skull, I will." Kakashi had found it hard not to revert back to his old cynical state, but Obito's words had always prevented him from doing so until that moment. Kakashi then pulled away, and shoved his hand in his pockets before turning to walk away.

"Kakashi! Wait!" Iruka called after a moment of stunned silence. Kakashi found himself rolling his eyes, but stopping none the less. "First of all, I'm not a kid. I'm only two years younger than you. And second of all, what do you mean it will end badly? Do you honestly think I'm the kind of person that would allow that to happen?!"

"No, I don't." Kakashi stated quietly, not bothering to face the shorter ninja.

"Then what's your issue! We should be lovers!" Iruka continued, causing Kakashi to tense on the spot. There was something about that word that had always made Kakashi panic inside. He made himself calm down and chose his words carefully.

"Sorry, Iruka."

"Give me a chance to prove that things won't go badly with me! I love you and you know that. And I think you love me too. You're just being too much of an ass to considder it."

There was that word again. Love. He had just said the three simple words that he had heard from Obito over 4 years ago. He froze and the next thing he knew, Iruka's arms were wrapping around his waist. He tensed at the sensation of Iruka's body heat through the embrace. All at once, he was reminded of Obito's embrace all that time ago. Iruka and Obito were two completely different people, and he knew this. But love and affection had only ever seemed right in an action prompted by Obito. But now he realized someone else had feelings for him, someone who desperately wanted them returned. At long last, he took in a deep breath and turned around to face the tanned chuunin.

"Fine, prove to me that you're worth the trouble." Kakashi exhaled, before reaching up to pull down his mask so that it hung loosely around his neck, and leaned in to lightly nibble on Iruka's lower lip. Iruka gasped and he took that as permission to use his tounge to explore and meld with Iruka's mouth. They're hot breath molded together, the pace of the breaths quickening as Kakashi began pushing Iruka backwards until his back was firmly planted against the tree. From there, Kakashi removed his lips from the other nin's and began placing gentle, delicate kisses along Iruka's jawline, before nipping lightly on his shoulder and then darting his tounge over it for a soothing after sensation. Kakashi ran out of room for him to kiss, and with that, he savagely began lifting off Iruka's shirt and continuing with his gentle/rough routine as he progressed down to Iruka's chest and abdomen, each nip earning him a moan filled with lustful ecstasy. He pulled away when he was centimeters above the waist of Iruka's jeans, and laced his fingers through the first two belt loops on the Chuunin's pants and tugged him closer so that all the right places bumped into one another just gentle enough to give an exhilarating sort of pleasure..

"You haven't proven anything yet." Kakashi stated in mock disappointment, which Iruka must have bought.

"It's because you haven't let me, asshole." He grumbled, as his face flushed and he turned away. Kakashi found himself smirking at Iruka's embarrased demeanor, before removing his hands from Iruka's belt, and gripping his wrist.

"Then come on, you can try to prove yourself all you want once we get out of public." Kakashi whispered, causing Iruka's face to heat even more. And with that, Kakashi took off sprinting towards his apartment with Iruka giddily trailing behind.

They were through the front door and on the bed remarkably fast and by that time, Iruka was already eager to begin and was tearing off Kakashi's clothes. Kakashi lay there, caught between laughing and kissing the horny adolescent. But his laughter didn't last long because suddenly the sensation of the warm crevace of Iruka's mouth surrounding his cock caused him to gasp and arch his back. Iruka hummed with laughter, causing the vibrations to travel through his every nerve ending resulting in a loud gutteral moan. Iruka smirked before sliding the head in and out of his mouth slowly, savoring every moment of Kakashi's back arching and groaning. After a few moments of doing that, he pulled away with a devious smirk on his face.

"I wouldn't have guessed iall/i you're hair would be silver." Iruka cooed, earning him a sound slap to the side of his head. Before Iruka had the time to move out of the way again, Kakashi gripped him by the hair and pushed his head downwards.

"Shut up, and do what you were just doing." Kakashi snapped, angry at the sudden stop of the ravishment he had been recieving. Iruka jumped, before readily obeying, and gripping the other mans length in one hand before bringing his mouth closer and using his tounge to trace intricate circles all the way down the length before taking it all in his mouth, tasting the precum that was beginning to develop. By this point, Kakashi's nails were dug so tight into the sheets, his knuckles were turning white with the effort not to release some loud noises that his neighbors most likely wouldn't want to hear. He could feel a warm pressure building at the bottom of his stomach as the euphoria of Iruka's blowjob heightened. He was so close.

"Iruka...!" He gasped, as Iruka used his finger to rub the underside so delicately that the slight tingles rippled through his abomen causing Kakashi to summit to the peak of the pleasure. Come errupted into Iruka's mouth and over Kakashi's abdomen. Iruka smirked at Kakashi who fell limp and panted for breath.

"I still haven't proven anything, Kakashi." Iruka whispered with a seductive sort of grin on his face. With that, Iruka proceeded to grip Kakashi's waist and place his knees on the outside of his thighs. He then slid his fingers up Kakashi's torso and neck until they reached his mouth. Kakashi eagerly opened his mouth and began to suck and lick each fingertip with precision and care. After a moment or two of this, Iruka moved them down to Kakashi's entrance before submitting two fingers and scissoring back and forth. Kakashi moaned so low it sounded more like a growl, and Iruka took that as his prompt to position his cock in the entrance and slowly begin to enter. Kakashi gasped and arched into the touch, unused to the sensation. It was painful, but it was a painful kind of bliss. Once Iruka was in all the way, he pulled out almost all the way before ramming back in. He paused, his confidence deteriorating at Kakashi's pained expression. Kakashi scowled up at him, disgruntled.

"Don't stop." He declared. Iruka chuckled and began thrusting in and out, slowly quickening the pace taking Kakashi's pleasure filled groans as encouragement to go on. Suddenly, mid thrust, Kakashi's head flew back into the pillows as he leaned into the touch. Pleasure was spiralling through him in euphoric waves, and he knew Iruka had hit the prostrate. Iruka must have realized it to because he began repeating the thrusts into the same spot.

"Nngh...!" Kakashi moaned. "Don't stop! Oh god, I'm gonna come!" Iruka chortled at this, and also at the sensation of his ever stiffening cock and the pleasure that he was feeling as well. "Oh god, Obito!" Kakashi cried out as he reached orgasm for the second time. At those words, Kakashi instantly stopped his panting and fell dead silent. Iruka slowly pulled out and backed up a bit, his face looked as though he had been hit with a frying pan.

"O-obito? Who's he...?" Iruka managed to choke out in his stunned state. Kakashi sat up, and swung his legs over the side of the bed, before gracefully rising to his feet and bending down to pick up his pants and underwear. In two swift motions they were up, and he hastily pulled his shirt over his head.

"Nothing. I just...I'm sorry." Kakashi said in monotone, before rushing out of the room and and out the balcony door. He took sat down on the balcony and looked around him. For the first time in four years, there was tears brimming to the surface of his eyes, and he hastily blinked them away. How could he have said that? Nothing had ever really happened betweeen him and Obito anyway? He really like Iruka, so why would he say Obito's name at a time like that?

He kept an impassive face while staring at the moon, lost in his own thoughts. He lost track of time, but after a while, Iruka slid the door open from behind him, and Kakashi could sense him standing there as he tried to find the right words.

"Kakashi?" He asked modestly.

"Nani?" Kakashi replied evenly. Iruka took that as his cue to take a seat next to Kakashi, and they stared at the moon for a brief period of time, before Iruka spoke again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?"

"I figure Obito must be someone really important to you from the past, since it's clear by the way you rejected me for four years that you have sworn off love." Kakashi turned to face Iruka, studying his concerned expression in awe, impressed that he would be able to discern that much.

"He was...a friend of mine. He died four years ago though."

"Ah, a friend and nothing more."

"Yeah." Kakashi replied, growing intensely interested in his fingernails. Due to the fact that he had never said those 3 simple words to Obito, he had never felt that he could say they were anything more than friends. "Listen, he's dead now. It's nothing. I just..."

"You loved him?"

"I...I still do." Kakashi found himself admitting in defeat. Iruka fell silent as he took this all in, before slowly wrapping his arms around the Jounin's shoulders and pressing his mop of silver hair into the nook of his shoulder. Kakashi tensed at first before realizing that Iruka understood and letting 4 tears fall, one for each person lost to him. Iruka was the one person who wouldn't judge him for seeing him cry. Iruka was truly remarkable. This embrace was soft, comforting, and caring. All the things that Kakashi could never admit to himself. Not once...

"Shh, it's okay." Iruka breathed into Kakashi's hair, knowing that if he were to say any sort of words of advice, Kakashi wouldn't listen. "I love you." He finally managed to breathe. Kakashi froze, and took in a deep breath as he felt his heart begin to race.

"I love you, too." Kakashi replied with utmost sincerity. He had finally said it. And he truly meant it. Love. It was truly a wonderful thing, and all it took to realize it was 3 simple words.


End file.
